Wasted Time And Unrequited Love
by blackdragon333
Summary: THIS STORY HAS BEEN PUT ON HOLD. It needs major revising. Seto's WAY too OOC, Mara's a Marysue yes i do admit it, the story isn't believable, and the overall style of it sucks. Major improvements will be made and once its good enough, Ill put it back.
1. The Drunken Businessman

"Ashley..." Seto whispered softly. "I do believe I love you."

"Aww, Seto, that's so sweet! Love you too!" She kissed his lips quickly. "Now, let's go. We'll be late!"

She walked off quickly and Seto followed, faithful as a dog to its master, though he was slightly disheartened by her response. He cheered up, though, when he decided that she was just worried about being late.

Later that day, Seto and Ashley were in Zales, looking at jewelry. Ashley quickly picked the most expensive-looking one. "Wow! That's so pretty!"

"Do you want it?"

"No, no, it's too expensive, I couldn't possibly..."

"Nonsense. I love you, Ashley, nothing is too expensive for you."

"But...$867? Are you sure?"

"I'm positive."

"Well...okay. If you're sure."

He bought it for her, and she seemed to have no trouble putting it on happily, with no sign of guilt. He looked at her questioningly, but then decided that she was just happy that he would spend so much money on her, and that it was a token of their extreme love for each other.

A few days later, Seto was sitting in his office, when his cell phone rang. Recognizing Ashley's number, he answered the phone happily. "Hey, sweetheart. What's up?"

"Seto, it's over."

"What's over?" He asked, confused.

"Us. You and I. Our relationship." Her voice was cold, with no sign of guilt or regret, no pity.

"B-but...why?"

"Tomuro Chou is richer than you, and he asked me out."

"B-but...I thought you loved me!" Seto could hear the tears in his own voice.

"I loved your money, not you. It was pretty obvious. You were fooling yourself if you thought otherwise. Well...see you!" She said happily, and hung up the phone.

Seto hung up his end, and tears slowly formed in his eyes. He brushed them away impatiently, however, thinking, 'I refuse to cry. I refuse to.'

He grabbed his coat and walked out of his office, headed downtown. Turning off his cell and his pager as he went, the 22-year-old businessman did something her had never done before in his entire life. He walked into a bar, and he got trashed.

He was standing on top of a bar stool, singing country songs, when a girl walked over to him, hands on her hips, and asked, "Seto Kaiba? What the _hell_ are you doing?"


	2. Old Friends And Hangovers

Seto's drunk mind tried to function. "Mara Toriyama? I haven't seen you in years!"

"I saw you yesterday, dumb fuck. Now get down from there!"

"No way! I'm at just the right position. I'm going to fly!"

"Seto, don't-!"

Ignoring her completely, Seto spread his 'wings' and jumped. He crashed to the floor and passed out, snoring loudly. Mara put her hand over her eyes, holding her temples. She put her hand back on her hip. "Wow! What a tard."

She bent down, slung his arm around her shoulders, and pulled him out of the bar. "You owe me, rich boy. You know that?" She said to his unconscious form as she dragged him towards her house. "You owe me big time."

Five or ten minutes later, she looked down at her watch. "Wow, not even eleven. You sure don't waste time, do ya?"

Mara didn't expect an answer from him; she was just super bored, and talking to a drunk, unconscious millionaire to pass the time. She sighed, her muscles aching already, but she continued to drag his bulky form to her house. "Only three more blocks, huh Seto?"

She finally reached her house. With a relieved sigh, she plopped him down on her couch. She looked at him for a second, and then hurried off to get him a basin. She brought it out and sat it down in front of him on the floor. He woke, sat up, and opened his mouth with a questioning look on his face, but he doubled over above the basin, and the contents of his stomach came out instead of a question.

Although Mara knew that it was Seto's fault that he was in such a bad state, she couldn't help but feel sorry for her childhood's best friend. She sat down next to him, not too close because she didn't want to crowd him while he was depleting his stomach's storage capacity, and rubbed his back soothingly.

"Easy, now." She said as she felt his muscles straining under her hand. "Don't try and force it, but don't hold it back, either. Just let it happen."

She felt him stop straining underneath her hand. When he was done vomiting, she brought him some toilet paper. She noticed the tears of effort glistening on his face, and she put her hands on his cheeks and wiped them off. She made him lay back down, cleaned out the basin, and brought it back sparkling clean. "Now...you go to sleep. If you need me, Seto, I'm right upstairs." She said soothingly as she covered him with a blanket. When he only nodded, she smiled. "Wow. you're pretty passive when you're drunk. 'Night!"

She turned the light off, locked the door, and went upstairs to her room. Once she heard him snoring deeply, she crept downstairs with the baby monitor her parents had saved from her brother's childhood and left it on the stand near his head. 'I don't really want him to choke on his own puke.'

Later in the night, she heard him wake up to puke again. She went back downstairs, got the toilet paper and a glass of water, and rubbed his back again, muttering soothing words to him as she did so. After cleaning and replacing the basin for the second time, she got him comfortable once again.

"Alright, Seto. Like I said...if you need me, I'm right upstairs."

She began to walk away, but stopped suddenly, her face red. She was glad it was dark and he couldn't see her blushing face.

He held onto her hand tightly. "Please...Mara, will...will you stay with me until I...until I fall asleep?"

He looked up at her sadly with big blue eyes, pleading and scared. On the inside, Mara was falling in love all over again. On the outside, though, she wasn't quite as open about it.

She smiled at him with her 'Okay, I give in' smile. "Okay, Seto. If you want me to, of course I will."

He smiled at her, a tired smile filled with sadness. His next words were a pained whisper. "Thank you."

At that, her heart nearly broke. "No problem."

He fell asleep nearly five minutes after that, his hand still grasping hers, but she didn't leave him for almost an hour. 'Seto...if you only knew...'

Finally, yawning, she went upstairs to her room and her bed. Sinking into the pillows, she sighed in relief. She looked over at the clock. '3:37, huh? Wow. Long night.'

Then, she was asleep.


	3. Toast, Tears, and Terrycloth

Around seven, she woke, yawned, stretched luxuriously, and got dressed. "Time to make breakfast."

She snuck downstairs, trying not to wake him, and the look of peace on her childhood friend's face surprised her. As she hid the baby monitor in a cupboard, worried that it would offend him, she thought, 'Well...that peace won't be there for very long. That man is going to wake up feeling like there's a U-haul parked on his head.'

She was in the kitchen making toast when, sure enough, she heard Seto groaning in pain. She smiled evilly. 'Now...to teach him not to get drunk ever again.'

She walked cheerfully into the living room, carrying some toast and a glass of water. She flicked on the light and said loudly, "Good morning, Seto!"

He groaned again, furrowed his brow, turned over, and buried his face in the pillow. "Morning." He muttered, his voice further muffled by the pillow.

She took pity on him and turned off the light. Warily, he slowly turned over and sat up. She sat down beside him. "Here." She said more quietly, handing him the toast and water. "This'll help settle your stomach."

"Thanks." He said quietly, taking the food.

'Something's wrong here.' thought Mara. 'Normally, he would be asking questions by now, but he's still just sitting there, eating his toast. Oh...I bet something bad happened. Well, duh. He's never even tried alchohol before...it must've been pretty bad to make him go out and get drunk.'

Seto, meanwhile, had finished the toast and drank the water. As if he was answering Mara's thoughts, tears began to leak from his eyes.

Mara looked up to ask him something, but her questions died in her throat as she noticed his tears. Instead, she slid over against him and put her hand on his back. He looked up at her with wide eyes, hardly daring to believe that someone cared. She looked back at him, a strong and steady look in her eyes. "Wanna talk about it?"

His expression crumpled in relief, and, wordlessly, she held her arms out to him, wide open. He slumped into her embrace without a word, pressed his face against her shoulder, and cried. Mara was chocked to hear him actually sobbing. 'Whatever happened to him...it must have been terrible.' She listened closely to his sobs, holding him, hugging him, and rubbing his back as she did so. 'He sounds...heartbroken. But...how can that be?'

Meanwhile, Seto was making her shirt quite wet with his tears. He began to speak as he sobbed, answering her unspoken questions. "Mara...she...I loved her, Mara, and she...she d-dumped me for..for someone richer. She never...never cared about me, Mara...she led me on for my money. Ashley...she's gone, Mara. She's gone!"

His voice broke on the last word, and he sobbed harder than ever. Mara could actually feel his body shaking with the force of his sadness.

"Seto...easy now, Seto..." She soothed. She could feel him holding back still, holding in the sobs, so she added, "Easy now. Don't try and force it, but don't hold it back, either. Just let it happen."

She could remember saying the same thing to him the night before, but she knew that he wouldn't. He did, however, let himself go. He cried harder than ever. Sliding his arms around her waist, he clung to her as if he were a man lost at sea and she was his life-raft. Little did she know just how true that was.

When he had quieted down to only the occasional sniffle, she let go of him. Reluctantly, he pulled back and removed his arms. He looked at her with glassy, bloodshot blue eyes, obviously hurt and exhausted. She smiled at him. "I think you need a hot shower."

He nodded, something flashing in his eyes. "Yeah, that sounds good."

She didn't like whatever she had seen flash through his eyes, but she just smiled, figuring that she would understand later. "Come on. I'll show you where it is."

She led him upstairs and showed him to the bathroom. He thanked her, went in, and shut the door. Mara walked into her room and found a dark blue bathrobe that was too long on her, figuring that if it was long on her, it should be just the right size for him.

She walked back over to the bathroom door and knocked gently. "Seto? I have bathrobe for you. Can I open the door and put it down on the sink?"

Seto, Mara's razor pressed to his throat, froze. He thought for a second, then put the razor down. "Yeah. Door's unlocked."

Mara opened the door, put the robe on the sink, took her hand back, and shut the door. "It'll be waiting for you when you come out. I'll be downstairs if you need anything."

He heard her footsteps as she walked away. He reached out for the razor, but the dark blue of the bathrobe caught his eye. Suddenly, Mara's voice shot through his head. 'It'll be waiting for you...'

He took his hand back, away from the razor, and sighed, shutting his eyes. He turned his head up to the water, letting it cascade down his face and body, mixing with his tears and washing away his thoughts.


	4. Scrambled Eggs

Mara, oblivious to the intense battle Seto was waging with himself upstairs, sat on the couch, reading an old favorite. She couldn't focus, though. Her thoughts kept going back to Seto. Finally, she sighed and put the book down. 'How long ago was it? How long has it been since we were best friends? I was fourteen, he was fifteen...seven years ago! Was it really that long? It seems like just yesterday...odd. Wonder what happened? I just remember he stopped talking to me one day. What the hell? I'll have to ask him some day soon.'

Finally able to focus, she returned to her book. As he finished the last page, she heard Seto coming down the stairs. She put the book down. "Hey Seto."

"What?"

"Wanna go get a drink after lunch?"

He groaned as he dropped down onto the couch beside her. "That's not funny."

She laughed anyway. "Not to you, maybe." Then, she smiled at him. "You seem like you're feeling a lot better."

"Yeah, I am. That's the last time I get drunk."

She laughed again. "Well, that's probably a good thing, Seto."

"Hey...thanks for everything, Mara. Especially for last night."

"You actually remember last night?" She asked. 'Shit.'

"Yeah. I got really drunk, tried to fly, and passed out. When I woke up, I was on your couch, and you rubbed my back and tried to comfort me as I puked. When I was done, you brought me some toilet paper and wiped off my tears, then you got me comfortable and went upstairs. Later on, I woke up again, and you came back down and did the same things for me, and brought me some water. So...well, thank you, for taking care of me."

"No problem, Seto." She smiled. "That's what friends are for."

He groaned and put a hand on his forehead. "Ow...I'm going to have one hell of a day at work, that's for sure."

"So don't go."

"I live where I work, remember?"

"So...just stay here."

"Hmm...well, I..." He was about to refuse, but he decided that he didn't really feel like going home to be reminded about Ashley everywhere he looked. "Actually...if I can...I think I will stay here."

She smiled at him. "Of course you can, Seto. You stay as long as you want to. You're welcome to watch TV or something; I'm going to go and make some lunch for us." She stood up and walked into the kitchen.

Seto tried watching television, but found that it hurt his still-sensitive head. He tried to read, but it hurt his eyes. He called in sick, then went upstairs and got dressed. Finally, he just came back down, sat down, and laid there, bored.

Mara, meanwhile, was pulling out ingredients and utensils and setting the table. 'What the hell is wrong with me? I can't think about him like that anymore...the most we ever were was best friends. It was nothing more than that, no matter how much I wish.'

Seto was alone with his thoughts as well. He chuckled at the irony of his situation. 'Lying on Mara's couch while she fixes lunch for me...how many times did I dream of that when I was fifteen? I'm twenty-two now...but this isn't exactly what I was imagining way back then.'

Finally, growing extremely bored, Seto walked into the kitchen to find Mara pulling eggs out of the fridge. She turned around, saw him, and jumped in surprise, nearly dropping them.

"Seto, you scared me!" She exhaled. "Jesus!"

He couldn't help but smile at her. As he stared into her eyes, he lost himself in the twin pools of sapphire light. She smile back at him but stared, spellbound, at that crooked little smile that always melted her heart.

A bark broke the spell that held them like that. Seto blushed and averted his eyes, but Mara didn't notice, because she did the same as she went over to let her dog in.

'Damn that smile...I need to not show him that I still like him.'

Seto watched her as she walked. 'Shit. If she starts to realize that I still like her...fuck.'

Mara let her dog in from the cold. "This, Seto, is Creamsicle, Cream for short."

He laughed. "Creamsicle?"

"Well, her fur is orange and she has that white splotch, so I called her Creamsicle."

He laughed again. "Makes sense. Come here, Cream." She went over to him, and he scratched her ears.

Mara smiled as she watched them. When she walked over to start the eggs, though, Creamsicle left Seto to follow her. Seto came over beside Mara.

"What are we having?"

"Scrambled eggs and a salad. Is that okay?" She asked, knowing full well that it was fine with him. She was remembering how, when they were younger, he used to beg her to make scrambled eggs for him.

"Sure, sounds good." His stomach growled, betraying his offhand manner. "So...what are you doing with the milk?"

She looked at him oddly. "Uh...making the eggs."

"Huh?"

"Don't you know how to make scrambled eggs?"

"Well...I...uh..."

She smiled. "Wanna learn?"

"Uh...sure."

"Well, come over here, then. How many eggs do you want?"

"One."

She looked at him disbelievingly and set out six eggs; three for him, one and a half each for her and Creamsicle. She cracked one to teach him how, and she let him crack the other five. While he got the lettuce from the fridge for the salad, she quickly picked out the shell fragments.

"Okay, Seto, the next step is to add the milk. You pour; I'll tell you when to stop. Stop!"

He stopped, but he got some milk on the floor.

"I'm sorry, Mara, I didn't mean to-!"

She cut him off by laughing. "It's okay, it's okay!" She laughed a little more at his mortified expression. "Relax, Seto, it's not the end of the world! See?" She got a paper towel and cleaned up the milk. "It's fine. Now...shall we beat the eggs?"

"Huh?"

"Just take the fork and whip them up."

He held the fork like he was going to stab something and used his whole arm to stir. Mara laughed kindly at him, then put her hand on his arm. "Stop a minute." She took his hand and place his fingers around the fork like he was holding a pencil, but with his nails to the side. "See? Isn't that easier?"

Once Seto had finished mixing the eggs and milk, he poured it into the frying pan. Mara scrambled the eggs as Seto tossed the salad. Seto split the salad in half, and Mara put half the eggs on Seto's plate, half of what was left on hers, and the rest in Creamsicle's bowl. She tossed Seto a gingerale for his stomach and got a glass of water for herself. Then, they sat down to eat..

Seto stared at the pile of salad and tower of eggs on his plate. "Wow. There's no way I'm going to be able to eat all of this."

"I think you'll change your mind once you try it." Mara smiled.

Half an hour later, Seto finished the last of his salad, having already eaten the eggs. Mara smiled as he patted his stomach.

"That was delicious, Mara. You're amazing."

She smiled. "Thanks, Seto. Glad you liked it. But hey, give yourself some credit; you helped too!"

He smiled back, but this time she remembered not to melt at that crooked little grin that became him so well. On his part, he remembered not to lose himself in the sparkling eyes he recalled from his past.

Suddenly, Mara jumped up and slapped her hand to her forehead. "Fuck!"


	5. A Whore and a Homeless Kid

"What is it?" Seto asked, following her into the living room, where she hastily put her shoes on and grabbed her coat.

"I'm going to be late! Chase is expecting me..."

'Who's Chase?' thought Seto, jealous already. 'Damn it, we've been over this before. You've got to let it go. She doesn't like you in that way, and she never will. Give it up, and stop getting jealous.'

Mara interrupted his thoughts. "You wanna come along?"

"Sure." Seto put his coat and shoes on quickly.

"Alright. Creamsicle! Where--oh." Mara nearly tripped over her dog. "There you are. Let's get going, Creamy."

"Where are we going?" Seto asked, more out of curiosity than need to know.

"Well, we're going to meet Chase at the Eatery, but I have to make inspections first, and then we have to stop at Smith's and Giant Eagle."

"Oh. Okay." He said aloud. Inside, he was thinking, 'I'll just act like I know what's going on.' Then, he added, "Make inspections?"

"I own the Eatery now, remember?"

"Oh..." He said apologetically. 'Of course, she would. Her mother and father owned it...when they died, I guess it would've been passed down to her and her brother. Since her brother died too, she'd have complete ownership.'

"Seto, hurry up!" Mara grabbed his hand and pulled him through the door after her. 'Hey...is he blushing?'

He was indeed blushing. In his head, he began to panic. 'Oh shit, oh shit! Fuck! I'm blushing again...damn it! Now she'll definitely know I still like her!'

Mara, meanwhile, was thinking as well. 'Could...it's not possible that he...he can't _like_ me...can he?'

She noticed that he seemed very uncomfortable, probably embarrassed because he was blushing. She took pity on him, turning to him suddenly.

"Your face is red, Seto, where's your scarf?" She scolded him, taking off her scarf and putting it around his neck. "If you're cold enough to make your face red, you should have a scarf on!"

"But...don't you need-" Seto began, relieved because he thought that she thought that he was just cold.

"Nope."

"But I'm not c-"

"Don't be masculine about it, I know you're cold."

He sighed, but snuggled into her soft scarf anyway. 'Hmm...this is nice. Girls always have such nice things, soft things, things that smell so good.' He inhaled deeply. 'Actually...this just smells like Mara. But...' He glanced at the girl walking beside him, her chin level with his shoulder, and he smiled. 'She smells great.'

Mara felt the tension between them ease, and they stopped walking outside Giant Eagle. She knelt down in front of Creamsicle, an envelope in her hands. "Take this to Mr. Smith, okay?"

Creamsicle wagged her tail, took the envelope, and trotted off down the street. Seto looked at Mara strangely. "What on earth?"

She smiled. "She's trained to get packages from Mr. Smith. If we hurry, we should be able to get done before she gets back. Come on."

She led the way into the store. Seto, shaking his head in bewilderment, followed. She picked up a salad and some non-perishable food items, and then they walked to the checkout line. Seto fidgeted impatiently, and Mara smiled at him. "You can go sit down over by the entrance if you want to, Seto. I can tell you're bored."

He looked down at her with a smile in his eyes, and she felt her face reddening. 'Damn...not now. I can't...no, damn it!'

He saw her blush, but he didn't mention it. "Yeah, I think I'll do that."

He left her side to go over to sit down on the bench. Mara didn't show it, but she missed the now-familiar warmth of her first crush. Seto didn't say anything either, but when he sat down on the padded bench, he was wishing that a certain dark-haired girl was sitting with him.

'She...she was blushing, just then. Is it possible...could she like me after all? Maybe...she could have changed her mind since back then...maybe...'

Mara, meanwhile, was still panicking. 'Damn it...damn it...I can't blush around him like that. It would be way too awkward if he found out that I like him.' She looked up to see him watching her intently, his intense blue eyes focused on hers. She blushed deep red and looked down at the floor. 'Damn it! Stop it, you whore! Stop blushing, damn you!'

'Wow...she's really blushing.' Seto watched Mara the whole time she was in line, his mind a million miles away from Ashley and the heartbreak she had caused him. His mind was jerked back to her when she stood in front of him, blocking his view of Mara.

"I heard you called in sick today." She laughed. "Wow, you're pathetic! Staying home because I broke your heart."

Mara looked up from paying for her groceries to see Ashley standing in front of Seto, a superior look on her face. A flash of anger clouded her judgement, and she made up her mind to do something drastic.

Seto stood up to face Ashley, suddenly angry at her. Before he could say anything, however, Mara, walking over to them with a grocery bag, interrupted with a laugh and slid her arm through his.

"He didn't call off because of you. He called off to be with me! Isn't that right, baby?" Turning to Seto, she kissed his cheek.

He blushed, but grinned at Ashley in a very cruel manner. "Yeah. You might've used me for money, but I was using you to see if Mara would get jealous."

Ashley looked at Seto in surprise. "But...you cried and everything!"

"What can I say? My Seto's great at everything, including acting." Mara said with a smile, patting his chest proudly. Then, her face grew serious, and her eyes flashed angrily as she growled, "And even if he would've been serious, a whore like you wouldn't have deserved him anyway." She went back to being happy. With a big smile, she said, "Now, if you'll excuse us, we have places to go. Come on, sweetheart, let's head home!"

So saying, Mara pulled Seto out of the store, her hands on the crook of his arm and her head against his shoulder. Out of the corner of her mouth, she muttered, "Don't move yet, I can feel her watching us."

Seto, nearly incapable of speech because he was so embarrassed, only nodded.

Just then, Creamsicle came up to Mara with a large brown parcel in her mouth. "Oh, thanks, Creamy! Good girl!" Mara pulled a dog biscuit out of her pocket and gave it to Creamsicle. "Well..." She made a heroic pose. "To the Eatery!"

Seto sweatdropped and poked her neck, making her jump out of the heroic pose. He laughed, and they began to walk. A few minutes later, he said awkwardly, "Uh...Mara...thanks for...well...back there."

"No problem, Seto." Mara smiled. Deciding to be bold, she added, "And...I meant what I said about her not deserving you. She doesn't."

Seto smiled back, the crooked little smile Mara adored so much. "Thanks." He decided to be bold as well. "I meant what I said, too. In a way."

"But...Seto, you said..."

"I know what I said. I did love her, but I only went out with her at first to see if you'd get jealous."

"Huh?" She blinked up at him in surprise. "Seto, before last night, I hadn't really talked to you in seven years. So, why would you...?"

"Mara...do you remember the last time we talked? Before last night, I mean."

"Of course. Like it was yesterday..."

"Describe it to me."

Her face grew sadder with every word she spoke, until there was no trace of happiness, only pain that hadn't gone away. "It was really late at night, the night before your birthday. We were outside my house on the steps; you were spending the night. We were sitting side by side, shoulders and knees touching." Without even realizing it, Mara had reached over and put her hand on her right shoulder. "You put your hand on my knee and told me that you had something very important to tell me, but my mom called us in, and you said you'd tell me later. That...that was the last time you spoke to me. I spent the next day programming the PDA I bought you, wrapping it, and making your card, but when I showed up at your house to see you, your butler sent me home.

"Mara, that's all you remember?" Seto's voice had an urgent sound to it. "You didn't watch the Steelers game?"

"No, I was too busy programming your PDA and making your card and cake. I didn't have time. Why is that important?"

"Because, Mara, I knew how much you loved the Steelers, and I had them put a special announcement on at halftime, but if you didn't watch it, then you didn't know-"

"Hang on. We're here."

'If she didn't watch the game...then...she never got my message! She never got to see 'Mara, I love you' on the screen...so...these past seven years of separation...they were caused by a message she never got? But...then maybe...maybe she does love me!'

Mara and Seto entered the Eatery, hurt in her eyes and shock and urgency on his face. Mara checked everything out, chatted happily with her employees, and slipped out a side door into an alley. Intrigued, Seto followed her.

"Chase." She whispered. "Chase!"

'What the hell? Is this guy like a vampire or something?' Seto shook his head. 'Stop getting jealous, dumb fuck. Stop it.'

A small homeless boy peeked out from behind a dumpster, then ran to Mara and hugged her tightly. "Mara!"


	6. Losing Chase, Saving Creamsicle

To Everyone Who Has Left Me a Flame Saying That Seto Was OOC: Thanks. I know. I told you he was. If it was going to bother you that much, you shouldn't have read the story.

To Everyone Who Left Me A Good Review: Thanks! You guys are the best!

And I didn't put a disclaimer because it's slightly obvious that i don't own YuGiOh. If I did, the fanfics would be episodes, and they'd be on TV.

"There you are, Chase!" She smiled at him.

Seto raised an eyebrow. 'So _this_ is Chase? Oh...wow. I feel like a retard.'

"I have something special for you today, Chase."

"Really?"

"Would I lie to you?"

"No. What is it, what is it?"

"Well, here's your usual food." She pulled out the package from Smith's. "Here's a special surprise!"

He opened it with all the joy of a child getting a present. "A winter coat! Mara, you're the absolute greatest!" He threw his arms around her happily, and she hugged him back tightly.

Seto watched as a shadow of pain fell over her face, and he slipped back into the restaurant, his eyes downcast in empathetic pain. He sighed sadly. 'Poor kid...no. Poor Mara. She sees her brother in him, I can tell...and she's missing her family something terrible.'

Mara came back in about ten minutes later. She smiled at Seto, but he could tell by the look in her eyes that she was forcing it. "Let's go home."

'I guess now isn't a good time to tell her...'

They met up with Creamsicle, who was waiting at the entrance. Then, they all began to walk to Mara's house.

Once there, Seto gathered up his things. "It was great of you to have me, Mara, but I have to go home to Mokuba. Thanks."

"No problem, Seto." She smiled falsely, wishing with all of her heart that he didn't have to leave her.

He paused, his hand on the doorknob. "No...thanks. For everything."

'I...I can't take this anymore. I have to know!' thought Mara.

She opened her mouth to say something just as Seto said, "Well, I'll see you later, Mara."

He left, closing the door silently behind him. She stared sadly at the closed door, and felt the tears begin to come. She blinked them away fiercely and whispered, "Bye...Seto."

When Mara woke up the next morning, she found it semi-pointless to make breakfast for just her and her dog. She found that she missed Seto's innocent comments as she cooked. Finally, she and Creamsicle were sitting in the living room on the couch. Mara pulled her close and pressed her face into her dog's fur. "I miss him, Creamy. There's no way to deny it."

Creamsicle gave her a kiss and laid down across her lap. Then, the phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Mara, it's Seto."

"Hey, Seto, wha-"

"Listen..." He said, an undercurrent of worry hidden in his voice. "Is Chase's last name O' Reilly, by any chance?"

"Yes...why?"

"Oh, fuck. Fuck fuckity fuck."

"Seto!" She said, alarmed now. "What is it? What's going on?"

"Mara..." His voice was sad now, the kind of sad that meant a false hope had been disproved. "I have something to tell you, and I think I should do it in person. I'll be right over. Please, don't go anywhere, and whatever you do, don't turn on the TV."

"Seto, what--?!"

Mara's desperate plea for him to explain was interrupted by the click of his phone, and she hung up her end. She stood and began to pace, worried, deciding that she would listen to him and not turn on the TV. When she heard a knock, she ran to the door, opened it, pulled him in out of the cold, and searched his eyes questioningly. Normally cold and uncaring, they looked pityingly down into hers. She gulped. That was not a good sign.

"Seto, what is it?" She asked fearfully, holding his elbows as he held onto her arms below her shoulders.

"Mara...Chase was standing on top of a dumpster, trying to open it. He tugged too hard and fell off, hitting his head and breaking his neck."

Her eyes filled with tears. "What...? Seto...is he...?"

"He..." His voice broke. He swallowed. "He died instantly."

Her voice came out as a heartbroken whisper. "No..."

Instinctively, Seto stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her, and she began to sob. She clung tightly to him, and he held onto her tightly as he felt her knees give out. He helped her over to the couch, sat her down, and sat down beside her. He smoothed her hair comfortingly as she cried into his shoulder. After a very long while, when she had calmed down to just tears, she rested her cheek against his shoulder, her face towards him. An automatic reaction, he rested his cheek on her head.

"Seto..." She said in a tear-choked whisper. "It's like I'm losing Sam all over again..."

"Mara...I'm so sorry. I wasn't there for you when you needed me the first time, when you lost your parents and your brother...but I'm here now, and as long as you need me, I will never leave you."

"My mother, my father, Sammy, Chase...what's wrong with me, Seto?" She began to tear up again. "Why do I keep losing the people I love?"

He placed his hands on her shoulders, bent over so his forehead was touching hers, and stared deeply, seriously, into her eyes. "There is nothing wrong with you."

She sighed, straightened, and wiped the tears from her eyes. "Thank you, Seto, for telling me what happened. And...for being here for me."

"No problem." He stood. "I...I should go."

She stood as well and walked over to the door with him. He opened it, and then said, "Well...if there's anything I can do for you, anything at all..."

"Oh, Seto, you've already done so much..."

He looked down into her eyes, and she looked up at him innocently. That was way too much for his self-control, and he put his hands on her shoulders. "Mara, listen. When you were fourteen and I was fifteen, and you loved the Steelers, I loved, and still do love, yo-"

His sentence was interrupted by Creamsicle, who had spotted a squirrel and knocked them apart to get to it. Mara saw that it was headed into the street, knew that Creamsicle would follow it, and saw a car coming up the street too fast to stop. She made a split-second decision. "I...I refuse to lose another one!"

With that thought spoken aloud, she leaped down the stairs, hurled herself in front of the car, and covered Creamsicle's body with her own. Two seconds of pain later, she raised her head. "Creamy?"

Creamsicle, who had been thrown about two yards away, stood up, perfectly fine.

Mara was vaguely aware that Seto was screaming her name. With a relieved sigh, her head dropped onto her arm. Then, everything went black.


	7. Chapter 7

Hey, everybody.

Blackdragon333 here.

First off, let me say that I'm sorry I haven't updated in a very long time.

Next, let me say that I won't be updating in a very long time.

Third, let me explain why, and keep in mind that I'm 15, so I'm not overreacting.

On December 6th, 2007, my mother was killed in a car crash, and my baby brother was critically injured. She was 36 years old, and he's 3. A coal truck rear-ended them. This truck was driven by a man the same age and with the same initials as my mother, and he had two children as well. The owner of the company that employed him was my mom's high school sweetheart.

I live with my grandparents now because my father's a deadbeat. They don't have high-speed internet, and frankly, I haven't felt much like writing, though I did write a poem.

I'm sorry, everyone. I'll be posting this on each of my stories, so don't bother reading it twice, unless you want to.

Well, I need to go now. We're going to see my baby brother, and I should be ready when it's time to leave.

Once again, I'm really really really sorry that I won't have the time or the resources to update. Between cleaning out our house and going to visit my brother, along with school, I just got in the time to write this. I'm sorry :(

BlackDragon333 3


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